Drinking straw capable of meeting users&#39; preferences

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a drinking straw capable of meeting users&#39; preferences. The drinking straw includes: a suction portion configured to be inserted into a container and to suck a beverage contained in the container, and including at least one suction hole configured to suck the beverage; an intake portion configured to be inserted into the mouth of a user and to allow the user to take in the beverage sucked into the suction portion through the suction operation of the user, and including a plurality of first intake holes configured to allow the beverage to be taken in; and a connection portion configured to connect the suction portion and the intake portion to each other so that the beverage sucked into the suction portion can move to the intake portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Application No. 20-2017-0001139, filed Aug. 22, 2017, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. All disclosures of the document named above are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a straw, and more specifically to a drinking straw which is capable of meeting users' preferences.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the past, liquid beverages, such as carbonated beverages and juices, were mainly consumed. In contrast, recently, with the development of coffee specialty stores and the development of various products of beverage makers, there have been consumed a lot of new types of beverages having high viscosity or including lumps, such as fruit lumps, and ice granules. If a typical straw is used when a user drinks such a new type of beverage, a problem arises in that an end of the straw is clogged by ice, slush, a fruit fragment, or the like because the diameter of the straw is small.

In order to solve the above problem, Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0259863 (hereinafter referred to as “Prior Art 1”) proposes a technology for forming a straw diameter as large as 10-15 mm. This large-diameter straw is advantageous in that it enables a user to easily drink a beverage mixed with solid materials which cannot be drunk with a typical straw.

However, when the large-diameter straw is used, even a person who desires to drink only a liquid beverage excluding ice fragments, slush, and fruit fragments has to take in particulate lumps, and thus a problem still arises in that users' different preferences cannot be completely met with the prior art large-diameter straw.

Meanwhile, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2010/0258498 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Prior Art 2”) discloses a technology for providing a filtering function in such a manner that a fitter member is installed at an end of a straw or holes are formed at an end of a straw in order to prevent a user from taking in solid materials mixed in a beverage. However, the straw according to the prior art 2 is easily clogged as in the case of using a small-diameter straw because the small-diameter filtering holes are formed at an end to be inserted into a beverage, rather than an intake end at which a user's suction operation is performed. Furthermore, the straw according to the prior art 2 cannot meet users' preferences for additionally taking in lumps, such as fruit fragments, ice fragments, etc.

Therefore, there is still a need for a drinking straw which is capable of, when a user drinks a beverage mixed with solid materials, meeting both the user's preference for drinking only the liquid beverage excluding the solid materials and the user's preference for drinking the beverage including the solid materials.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a drinking straw which, when a user drinks a beverage mixed with solid materials, enables the user to selectively take in only liquid beverage excluding the solid materials or the beverage including the solid materials depending on his or her preference.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a drinking straw capable of meeting users' preferences, the drinking straw including: a suction portion configured to be inserted into a container and to suck a beverage contained in the container, and including at least one suction hole configured to suck the beverage; an intake portion configured to be inserted into the mouth of a user and to allow the user to take in the beverage sucked into the suction portion through the suction operation of the user, and including a plurality of first intake holes configured to allow the beverage to be taken in; and a connection portion configured to connect the suction portion and the intake portion to each other so that the beverage sucked into the suction portion can move to the intake portion; wherein the first intake holes have a smaller size than the suction hole so that particulate lumps, having a size which can be recognized or sensed by a use through the sensation of the naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user because they are mixed with the beverage, can be sucked into the suction hole but cannot pass through the first intake holes; wherein the drinking straw further includes a cutoff portion provided in the intake portion, in the connection portion, or between the intake portion and the connection portion, and configured to be at least partially cut through by the user according to the user's selection and to form a second intake hole capable of meeting the user's drinking preference in response to cutting; wherein at least some of the plurality of first intake holes lose an intake function in response to the user's operation of cutting through the cutoff portion; and wherein the second intake hole has a size which allows particulate lumps, having a size which can be recognized or sensed by the user through the sensation of the naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user, to pass through the second intake hole, and the size of the second intake hole is larger than that of the first intake holes but is equal to or smaller than that of the suction hole.

The cutoff portion may be formed only on a part of the circumference of the straw so that the cutoff portion can still remain connected to the straw after the user has cut through the cutoff portion.

The straw may include one closed end, and the intake portion may be formed at the one closed end.

Both ends of the straw may be open, and the plurality of first intake holes may be formed by thermally compressing one end of the straw, where the intake portion is located, at at least one point.

The cutoff portion may include holes arranged along at least part of the circumference of the straw in a line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drinking straw according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drinking straw according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drinking straw according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a drinking straw according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a view of a state in which the drinking straw has been bent along a cutoff portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For brevity of description, redundant descriptions or descriptions of the same configurations will be omitted or abridged as much as possible.

FIG. 1 shows a drinking straw 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The drinking straw 100 includes: a suction portion 110 configured to be inserted into a container, and to suck a beverage contained in the container; an intake portion 120 configured to be inserted into the mouth of a user, and to allow the user to take in the beverage sucked into the suction portion 110 through the suction operation of the user; and a connection portion 130 configured to connect the suction portion 110 and the intake portion 120 to each other so that the beverage sucked into the suction portion 110 can move to the intake portion 120.

The suction portion 110 includes a suction hole 111 configured to suck a beverage. The diameter of the suction hole 111 preferably ranges from 7 to 15 mm (which are larger than those of typical straws diameter) so that particulate lumps, such as ice fragments, slush, or fruit fragments having a size which can be recognized or sensed by a use through sensation of the naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user because they are mixed with the beverage, can pass through the suction hole 111. However, the diameter of the suction hole 111 is not limited to the range, but may have any numerical value in a range which allows a beverage mixed with solid materials to be sucked in the suction hole 111. Furthermore, although only the single suction hole 111 is shown in FIG. 1, the suction portion 110 may include a plurality of suction holes as long as they have a diameter which allows particulate lumps in a beverage to pass through them.

The intake portion 120 includes a plurality of first intake holes 121 configured to allow a beverage to be taken in. The diameter(s) of the first intake holes 121 is smaller than that of the suction hole 111 so that particulate lumps contained in a beverage can be prevented from passing through the first intake holes 121. Although the first intake holes 121 are shown as having a circular shape, they may have another shape, such as an elliptical shape or polygonal shape. In this case, the first intake holes 121 have a smaller size(s) than the suction hole 111 so that particulate lumps contained in a beverage can be prevented from passing through the first intake holes 121. The first intake holes 121 are preferably formed only in the portion of the straw 100 insertable into an oral cavity so that a beverage can be prevented from flowing through the holes.

Furthermore, the drinking straw 100 includes a cutoff portion 140 between the intake portion 120 and the connection portion 130. The cutoff portion 140 may be disposed on the intake portion 120 or connection portion 130. At least part of the cutoff portion 140 may be freely cut through by a user according to the user's selection. Although the cutoff portion 140 is shown as being formed in the shape of a dotted line along the circumference of the overall straw 100 in FIG. 1, the cutoff portion 140 may be formed in the shape of a cutoff guideline. When a user completely cuts through the cutoff portion 140, the intake portion 120 is separated from the straw 100, and thus the plurality of first intake holes 121 loses an intake function. As a result, a second intake hole having the same diameter as the suction hole 111 may be formed in the cut portion. Therefore, a user who desires to take in particulate lumps, mixed with a beverage, along with the liquid beverage, may take in the beverage via the second intake hole.

According to the first embodiment, one end of the straw 100 including the intake portion 120 is provided in a closed shape. The closed one end of the straw 100 is preferably fabricated by thermal compression for the sake of simplicity of fabrication. However, the closed one end may be fabricated by injection molding, in which case the closed one end may be formed to be curved or flat.

FIG. 2 shows a drinking straw 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Descriptions of components of the present embodiment which are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be omitted. According to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a cutoff portion 240 includes holes arranged along the circumference of the straw 200 in a line. The holes of the cutoff portion 240 may perform a filtering mesh function of passing only a liquid beverage therethrough along with the first intake holes 221 of the intake portion 220. In this case, the holes arranged in the cutoff portion 240 in a line are disposed at narrower intervals than the first intake holes 221 not arranged in the cutoff portion 240, which enables a user to easily become aware of the cutoff portion 340 and to easily cut through the cutoff portion 240.

FIG. 3 shows a drinking straw 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The drinking straw 300 includes: a suction portion 310 configured to be inserted into a container, and to suck a beverage contained in the container; an intake portion 320 configured to be inserted into the mouth of a user, and to allow the user to take in the beverage sucked into the suction portion 310 through the suction operation of the user; and a connection portion 330 configured to connect the suction portion 310 and the intake portion 320 to each other so that the beverage sucked into the suction portion 310 can move to the intake portion 320.

The suction portion 310 includes a suction hole 311 configured to suck a beverage. Although only the single suction hole 311 is shown in FIG. 3, the suction portion 310 may include a plurality of suction holes as long as they have a diameter which allows particulate lumps in a beverage to pass therethrough.

The intake portion 320 includes a plurality of first intake holes 321 configured to allow a beverage to be taken in. According to FIG. 3, three first intake holes 321 are shown as being formed by thermally compressing one end of the straw 300 at two points. In this case, the number of points at which thermal compression is performed is merely an example. In other words, the thermal compression may be performed at any number of points as long as the diameter of the first intake holes 121 is formed to prevent particulate lumps in a beverage from passing therethrough.

According to the third embodiment, the end of the straw 300 at which the intake portion 320 is located is maintained in an open state, like the end of the straw 300 at which the suction portion 310 is formed.

Furthermore, the drinking straw 300 includes a cutoff portion 340 between the intake portion 320 and the connection portion 330. The cutoff portion 340 may be disposed on the intake portion 320 or connection portion 330. At least part of the cutoff portion 140 may be freely cut through by a user according to the user's selection. Although the cutoff portion 340 is shown as being formed in the shape of a dotted line along the circumference of the straw 300 in FIG. 3, the cutoff portion 340 may be formed in the shape of holes formed along the circumference of the straw in a line, as shown in FIG. 2, or may be formed in the shape of a cutoff guideline. When a user completely cuts through the cutoff portion 340, the intake portion 320 is separated from the straw 300, and thus the three first intake holes 321 lose an intake function. As a result, a second intake hole having the same diameter as the suction hole 311 may be formed in the cut portion. Therefore, a user who desires to take in particulate lumps, mixed with a beverage, together with the liquid beverage, may take in the beverage via the second intake hole.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a drinking straw 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a view of a state in which a cutoff portion 440 has been cut through and then the straw 400 has been bent.

According to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the cutoff portion 440 is is formed on a part of the circumference of the drinking straw 400. Accordingly, when a user cuts the straw 400 along the cutoff portion 440, a cut portion may not be separated from the straw 400, but may still remain connected to the straw 400. In other words, a user may cut through the cutoff portion 440, may bend a cut portion in an opposite direction, and may then use the straw 400 to drink a beverage. When the user bends the cutoff portion 440, a second intake hole 441 is formed, and the first intake holes 421 lose an intake function. The second intake hole 441 has a size which allows particulate lumps, having a size which can be recognized or sensed by a use through the sensation of the naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user, to pass through the second intake hole 441. The size of the second intake hole 441 is larger than that of the first intake holes 421, but is equal to or smaller than that of the suction hole (411) formed in the suction portion 410.

Meanwhile, a user who feels uncomfortable with a foreign object sensation generated because a bent end portion is inserted into an oral cavity may use the straw 400 in such a manner that the user turns the straw 400 upside down, inserts the bent end portion into a beverage, and then uses the straw 400. In this case, the beverage is sucked via the second intake hole 441, and the beverage is taken in via the suction hole 411.

As described above, when the cutoff portion 440 is formed only along a part of the circumference of the straw 400, a cut portion still remains connected to the straw 400 after cutting, and thus advantages arise in that a user does not need to search for a place in which a cut straw fragment will be discarded and the pollution of a surrounding environment attributable to the cut straw fragment can be prevented.

The drinking straw according to the present invention has the following advantages:

First, when a user drinks a beverage mixed with solid materials, the drinking straw according to the present invention meets the user's preference for drinking only the liquid beverage because the drinking straw includes the intake portion including the plurality of first intake holes configured to prevent particulate lumps in the beverage from passing therethrough, and also meets the user's preference for additionally taking in the solid materials because the drinking straw includes the cutoff portion.

Second, when the cutoff portion is formed on a part of the circumference of the drinking straw, the body of the drinking straw is maintained, and thus a user does not need to search for is a place in which a cut straw fragment will be discarded and also the pollution of a surrounding environment attributable to the cut straw fragment can be prevented.

As described above, although the present invention has been specifically described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be understood as being limited only to the embodiments. The scope of the present invention should be construed as encompassing the attached claims and equivalents to the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A drinking straw capable of meeting users' preferences, the drinking straw comprising: a suction portion configured to be inserted into a container and to suck a beverage contained in the container, and including at least one suction hole configured to suck the beverage; an intake portion configured to be inserted into a mouth of a user and to allow the user to take in the beverage sucked into the suction portion through a suction operation of the user, and including a plurality of first intake holes configured to allow the beverage to be taken in; and a connection portion configured to connect the suction portion and the intake portion to each other so that the beverage sucked into the suction portion can move to the intake portion; wherein the first intake holes have a smaller size than the suction hole so that particulate lumps, having a size which can be recognized or sensed by a use through sensation of a naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user because they are mixed with the beverage, can be sucked into the suction hole but cannot pass through the first intake holes; wherein the drinking straw further comprises a cutoff portion provided in the intake portion, in the connection portion, or between the intake portion and the connection portion, and configured to be at least partially cut through by the user according to the user's selection and to form a second intake hole capable of meeting the user's drinking preference in response to cutting; wherein at least some of the plurality of first intake holes lose an intake function in response to the user's operation of cutting through the cutoff portion; and wherein the second intake hole has a size which allows particulate lumps, having a size which can be recognized or sensed by the user through sensation of the naked eye, tongue, or throat of the user, to pass through the second intake hole, and the size of the second intake hole is larger than that of the first intake holes but is equal to or smaller than that of the suction hole.
 2. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the cutoff portion is formed only on a part of a circumference of the straw so that the cutoff portion still can remain connected to the straw after the user has cut through the cutoff portion.
 3. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the straw includes one closed end, and the intake portion is formed at the one closed end.
 4. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein both ends of the straw are open, and the plurality of first intake holes is formed by thermally compressing one end of the straw, where the intake portion is located, at at least one point.
 5. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the cutoff portion includes holes arranged along at least part of a circumference of the straw in a line. 